Terrible things - Because of You
Stories for Everyone - AF
Dear Readers,
We would like to invite you to take part in a new project called “From Stories to Books”.
The Stories for Everyone Team have been, for some time, gathering and selecting books that provide some sort of reflection on the fundamental ethical principles of
our society, such as solidarity, courage, honesty, respect for differences and a sense of justice, matters that have deserved the attention of writers from various
nationalities.
Therefore, the Stories for Everyone Team proposes to send, together with the usual weekly stories,and also free of charge, full texts of selected books.
In case you are interested in receiving each week, by email, a chapter of an extensive reading book, all you have to do is send an email to
bo...@storiesforeveryone.com or stori...@gmail.com by writing the following sentence in the subject field:
“Yes, I am interested in participating in the project From Stories to Books.”
Hoping that this new proposal will meet your utmost interest, we look forward to your reply.
The Stories for Everyone Team
Terrible things
An Allegory of the Holocaust
In Europe, during World War II, many people looked the other way while terrible things happened. They pretended not to know that their neighbors were being taken away and locked in concentration camps. They pretended not to hear their cries for help. The Nazis killed millions of Jews and others in the Holocaust. If everyone had stood together at the first sign of evil would this have happened?
Standing up for what you know is right is not always easy. Especially if the one you face is bigger and stronger than you. It is easier to look the other way. But if you do, terrible things can happen.
The clearing in the woods was home to the small forest creatures. The birds and squirrels shared the trees. The rabbits and porcupines shared the shade beneath the trees and the frogs and fish shared the cool brown waters of the forest pond. They were content.
Until the day the Terrible Things came.
Little Rabbit saw their terrible shadows before he saw them. They stopped at the edge of the clearing and their shadows blotted out the sun.
“We have come for every creature with feathers on its back,” the Terrible Things thundered.
“We don´t have feathers,” the frogs said.
“Nor we,” said the squirrels.
“Nor we,” said the porcupines.
“Nor we,” said the rabbits.
The little fish leaped from the water to show the shine of their scales, but the birds twittered nervously in the tops of the trees. Feathers! They rose in the air, then screamed away into the blue of the sky.
But the Terrible Things had brought their terrible nets and they flung them high and caught the birds and carried them away.
The other forest creatures talked nervously among themselves.
“Those birds were always too noisy,” Old Porcupine said. “Good riddance, I say.”
“There´s more room in the trees now,” the squirrels said.
“Why did the Terrible Things want the birds?” Little Rabbit asked. “What´s wrong with feathers?”
“We mustn´t ask,” Big Rabbit said. “The Terrible Things don´t need a reason. Just be glad it wasn´t us they wanted.”
Now there were no birds to sing in the clearing. But life went on almost as before. Until the day the Terrible Things came back.
Little Rabbit heard the thump of their terrible feet before they came into sight.
“We have come for every bushy-tailed creature who lives in the clearing,” the Terrible Things thundered.
“We have no tails,” the frogs said.
“Nor do we. Not real tails,” the porcupines said.
The little fish leaped from the water to show the smooth shine of their finned tails and the rabbits turned their rumps so the Terrible Things could see for themselves.
“Our tails are round and furry,” they said. “By no means are they bushy.”
The squirrels chittered their fear and ran high into the treetops. But the Terrible Things swung their terrible nets higher than the squirrels could run and wider than the squirrels could leap and they caught them all and carried them away.
“Those squirrels were greedy,” Big Rabbit said. “Always storing away things for themselves. Never sharing.”
“But why did the Terrible Things take them away?” Little Rabbit asked. “Do the Terrible Things want the clearing for themselves?”
“No. They have their own place,” Big Rabbit said. “But the Terrible Things don´t need a reason. Just mind your own business, Little Rabbit. We don´t want them to get mad at us.”
Now there were no birds to sing or squirrels to chitter in the trees. But life in the clearing went on almost as before. Until the day the Terrible Things came again.
…
(To be continued in the PDF attachment)
Eve Bunting
Terrible things: An Allegory of the Holocaust
Philadelphia, The Jewish Publication Society, 1989
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Because of You
Each time a child is born, the world changes.
When you were born, there was a new person for your family to love and care for.
And because of you, there is one more person who can love and care for others.
Because of you, there is one more person who will grow and learn and one more person who can teach others.
Because of you, there is one more person to share with.
And there is one more person who can share feelings and ideas, as well as things.
Because of you, there is one more person who needs help and one more person who can help the others.
…
(to be continued in the PDF attachment)
B. G. Hennessy; Hiroe Nakata
Because of You
Cambridge, MA, Candlewick Press, 2005
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